WINGED ₁

72

AFTER PERCY, ETHAN, MADELEINE, AND MRS. O'LEARY MADE THEIR WAY OUT OF THE UNDERWORLD, PERCY HAILED A TAXI. The three demigods piled in and Mrs. O'Leary bounded along behind them.

"New York is fucked up," Ethan decided.

Madeleine smiled.

Percy called Annabeth a second time. This time, she picked up. "Hey," he said. "You get my message?" There was a pause in which Madeleine could hear Annabeth's frantic voice, though she couldn't make out what the girl was saying. Then Percy said, "I'll fill you in later. Where are you?" More of Annabeth's anxious pitch, and then Percy said, "Trust me. I'll see you there."

He hung up, his hands trembling.

"Is the plan in action?" Madeleine asked.

Percy nodded. "They're all coming."

Ethan gazed out the window. "You ready for this fight, Jackson?"

Percy closed his eyes and laid his head on the headrest. "Ready as I'll ever be."

⎯⎯ ୨ winged ୧ ⎯⎯

It was late afternoon when the taxi dropped them at the Empire State Building. Mrs. O'Leary bounded up and down the street, licking cabs and sniffing hot dog carts. None of the mortals seemed to really notice her, though people did swerve away and look confused when she came close.

Percy whistled for her as three white vans pulled up to the curb. They read Delphi Strawberry Service, which was the cover name for Camp Half-Blood. Madeleine had never seen all three vans in one place before, but she knew that they shuttled fresh produce into the city.

The first van was driven by Argus. The other two were driven by harpies. The doors slid open, and campers piled out, some looking green from the long drive. There was more than Madeleine had expected: Castor and Pollux, Silena, both Stolls, Katie, Michael, Lee, Drew, Jake, Annabeth, and most of their siblings. Chiron came out of the van last. His horse half was compacted into his magic wheelchair, so he used the handicap lift. No one from the Ares Cabin was there, which made Madeleine so furious that for a moment, she couldn't see straight.

Ethan must have seen her tense, because he reached out and grabbed her hand. "It's okay," he murmured. "Look how many of your campers are here."

He was right. All of the Hermes Cabin, minus Chris, who was undoubtedly trying to get Clarrise to change her mind, had come. They were not all fighters, but there they stood, some young and some old, all looking at Madeleine for direction.

A lump swelled in her throat. She remembered arriving at camp. She remembered how they had used to look at Luke that way.

She had proven herself as their leader. They were her family, her team. She would not let them down with petty anger.

"We need to get moving," Madeleine announced. "With this many demigods in the area, monsters will be attacking soon."

Annabeth stepped forward. She was dressed in black camouflage, her Celestial bronze knife strapped to her arm and her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. Percy's eyes lingered on her.

She frowned at him. "What is it?"

"What's what?" he asked.

"You're looking at me funny."

Ethan snorted. Percy frowned. Madeleine wondered who had pulled him out of the Styx. They hadn't had the chance to talk about their visions, but Madeleine knew he had had them. It was the way of things.